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The Insolvency Service said it recently issued lengthy bans to 20 directors in 16 separate businesses across the UK for employing illegal workers, including 11 restaurants, four takeaways and a shop.

Following visits from Home Office Immigration, when the breaches were discovered, the companies were issued with penalty notices ranging from £10,000 to £15,000 per worker, which remain unpaid.

The banned directors were found to have failed to comply with statutory obligations under The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 to ensure relevant immigration checks were completed and copy documents retained.

Cheryl Lambert, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Employing illegal workers is not consequence free, either for the employer, the employee or the consumer.

“These directors sought an unfair advantage over their law abiding competitors by employing people who were not entitled to work legally in the UK. By definition this is a set of people who are without the protection of the law and knowledge of the authorities, and thereby extremely vulnerable to exploitation in all its forms.

“It is bad for business and bad for society as a whole.

“If a company is found to be employing illegal workers and not carrying out the checks they are required to by law, then the Insolvency Service will continue to liaise with the Home Office to ensure that not only the workers, but the employers will be removed from the market place. This is regardless of the whether the company remains trading or is in Liquidation

“These actions are a warning that the Government is pursuing bad employers."